New Hampshire natives Since the Flood have worked hard to get where they are today. In their five years of existence the band has self-released a couple demos, signed as the first band to Ironclad Recordings (Trevor of Unearth's label), and toured their asses off, resulting in the promotion from imprint label Ironclad to the mother of metal, Metal Blade Records. No Compromise, the product of all that hard work and perseverance, is twelve tracks of burly metallic hardcore that will leave you feeling like you went twelve rounds in the ring.
There is no easing into things on No Compromise. Since the Flood come right out of the bell with "Gone Tomorrow," quickly slamming the listener with savage guitars and a punishing drumming. And while you're being battered and bruised by that assault, vocalist Chuck Bouley is chewing your ear off. So you're one song in and I'm sure by now you're saying, "This is nothing new." Well you're right; this has been done "a thousand times before." But Since the Flood aren't your run of the mill hardcore band, they've got a knack for writing well structured hardcore songs that don't come off as formulistic trivial crap. The title track, "No Compromise," is an excellent example of that - one that has you hoping that the round ends soon.
Halfway through, we come to "Laid to Rest," which is one of the best tracks on the album. It's a ferocious track with a nice groove in the guitarline - imagine Leeway and Slayer getting tangled up in a fistfight. And the hits just keep coming. "Save It" and "All for Nothing" deliver more aggression in concentrated form - each tracking in under two minutes. Since the Flood have been serving up one solid track after another, but they have saved the best for last. The one-two punch of "At the End" and "Guardian Angel" deliver the knockout blow.
No Compromise isn't the longest running full-length - clocking in at just over thirty-one minutes, but it is a volatile, focused effort. The twelve tracks that comprise this album pack a knockout punch from start to finish. Consider yourself pummeled.
